Felted fibrous product and method of making same



Emily 2, 935; J. J. BLUM @g@ FELTED FIBROUS PRODUCT AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed April 24, 1955 the form.

face of said member provided Withthe grooves orslots 2. Al major portion of the perforations 5 communicate with thegrooves 2 whereby the aqueous carrier of the pulp solution may Vpass through perforations 5 under the influence of vacuum. By the provision of plate 4 a relatively smooth uniform' surface is obtained. A relatively fine gauge wire screen 6 may be posif tioned upon plate 4 whereby the condition of vac-'Y uum established at the rear face of the member Vfibrous liner I0 is shown which may be utilized to I maybe uniformly effectively established over the entire surface. Y, v Y Y In the manufacture of the usual felted fibrous products the apparatus thus far described may be immersed in a fibrous pulp and a condition of vacuum established at the rear face of the member I. YIt can readily be seentiiat, the aqueous carrier of the fibrous pulp may be freely drawn through screen 6, plate 4`and apertures 3. However, the fibres constituting the pulp solution are prevented from passing through screen 6 and consequently the same are deposited upon said screen toa desired depth dependent upon the character of the product being manufactured. When a desired thickness `of fibres has been de#` posited upon screen 6, the formcomprising memf ber I, plate 4, screen carryingthe deposited fibres, is removed Vfrom the pulp bath and, depending upon thesurface characteristics of the product desired, the deposited layer of fibres may be subjected to a pressing action or other treatment. Subsequently, air under pressure may act from the rear face of member 4 to dislodge the fibrous layer from screen S.

As a feature of my invention, I contemplate the disposition of a sheet or web of fabric 1 upon screen 6 prior to the immersing of the formin the pulp bath. It can readily be seen that when the form carrying'the fabric sheet or web 1 is immersed in the pulp and a condition of vacuum established at the rear face of member I, the aqueous carrier of the pulp will be drawn through the interpositioned web 1 and the individualbres constituting the pulp will be deposited upon the fabric Web instead of screen 6. When a desired thickness of fibres has been deposited upon the fabric Lthe form may be removed from the pulp bath with a layer 8 of fibres carried upon the fabric web 'I. If desired, while the felted layer 8 is still carried upon the form, said fibrous materia] may be subjected to a pressing action by the process commonly known to the art as the rubber hat method. In this manner the surface of the fibrous "body may be smoothed or otherwise finished as desired. The vacuum may then be released and a condition of pressure may be established to blow oif or otherwise remove the brous structure carrying the fabric web from It can readily be seen that, a different condition exists between depositing the fibres upon a metallic screen such as screen 6 anddepositing said fibres upon the fabric web 1. Screen 6 comprises `a plurality of woven reticulated wires the surfacesof which are relatively smooth whereas the individual strands Yconstituting the fabric has a more oriless fuzzy surface, the various strands when woven to form the fabric, producing a web having a. more or less linty surface. When `sary equipment.

tour of the liner I0 may be of the irregular secfabric 1 to the fibrous layer 8, as shown best at 9 in Fig. 3.

Referring particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, a felted denne a dashboard or instrument board compart ment upon an automobile, the open portion II o1' the liner being positioned adjacent the surface of the dashboard which latter is usually provided with aV door. It is desirable, of course, to line the inside of such a compartment with a textile fabric in order to impart a finished 'appearance thereto and also to prevent scratching or marring of articles of a delicate nature which may be positioned within the compartment.V It is well known that, most available space upon an automobile is utilized toadvantage, particularly adjacent and under'the dashboardof the machine. Hence, it becomes necessary to construct the compartments in peculiar shapes orforms Vin order to avoid in-` terference with instruments, Wires, and like neces- For instance, the'V section contional shape shown atV l2 in Fig. 5 which section may not be uniformthroughout the length of the liner. A liner of this character may be` constructed Very easily and economically by utilizing the concepts of my invention inasmuch as the only additional steps necessary in the process of mak# ing the ordinary unlined'liner are that a'fabric- Y bag be cut, sewn and fitted to the formrupon which the usual liner is to be felted. 'I'he felting operation is then carried out in the manner hereinbefore described and the lining ofthe resulting product, being formed as an integral portion of the liner itself, fits vperfectly within the liner and is substantially non-destructible in regard to its tearing from the surface'of the liner.` It can readily be s een that in order to manually adhesively unite a cloth lining similar to lining I3 within the liner IIJ and to perform a neat, finished and eflicient jobfwould be a tedious,`atime consuming and expensive task.

I claim as my invention: v, y

kl. A preformed, felted, relatively vrigid fibrous structure having curvilinear surfaces, one ex-f` terna-l surface of said structure comprising a linty fabric sheet, the lint of which is intertwined with the fibres comprising said structure. 2. In a process Whereinthe aqueous carrier of a fibrous pulp ispassed through a. `vreceptacleshaped foraminated surface under ,the influenceof vacuum, to deposit a relatively thick layer oi'- fibres upon said surface, to produce'a relatively. rigid fibrousV structure, the improvement whichV comprises, disposing a linty fabric'web conforming in contour with said surface upon said surface prior to the passage of the carrier therethrough whereby to intertwine'the fibres and the lint of the fabric to unite said fabric to the fibrous structure and thereby form an integral unit. Y

JEROME J. BLUM. 

